


Morning Kisses and Onii-Chans

by junko



Series: Senbonzakura's Song [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Boys Kissing, Bruises, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 21:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji's morning starts out great--with a sweet, little peck on the nose from Byakuya--but things quickly go downhill....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning Kisses and Onii-Chans

**Author's Note:**

> A thousand thanks to [Josey (cestus)](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cestus/pseuds/Josey) for being such a good friend. She spots all the things and is a tremendous cheerleader and idea bouncer-offer.

Renji woke to the sensation of lips lightly touching his nose and the lingering smell of jasmine and sex. He cracked open an eye. Reaching for a handful of inky black hair, he managed to snag it before Byakuya pulled away. “Morning,” Renji said.

“Yes, though not for much longer. We’ve overslept,” Byakuya said, sounding so prickly that Renji had to tug him down into a kiss.

Byakuya sighed impatiently against Renji’s lips, but Renji didn’t let go until Byakuya relented and allowed himself to be thoroughly kissed. Even though Renji was sure his own mouth was sour with morning breath, somehow Byakuya managed to taste of the lingering sweetness of last night’s dessert. 

Renji could have kissed all morning, but Byakuya’s body was stiff and impatient as he leaned over Renji. So, with one last loving sweep of mouth and teeth and lips, Renji let him go.

Byakuya sat up and pulled his yukata around his shoulders, like some irritable bird fluffing snow off its wings. “I was hoping we could get in a bath.”

Together? Sounded divine. Renji stretched out in a big yawn until his shoulder muscles popped. “Yeah, no problem. I can be ready in five.”

Byakuya nodded. Padding off to the dressing room, he said over his shoulder, “I’ll tell Eishirō to bring tea to the sentō.”

Renji pulled himself upright and sat with his legs hanging over the side of the bed for a moment as he got his bearings. Through the window, the sun shone high over the cherry orchards. From the quality of the light, it had to be nearly lunch. It was unusual that the both of them had slept so soundly and a wonder that no servants had woken them. 

Glancing down at his toes, Renji noticed that the floor was covered in a fine film of red lint. The only remaining remnant from last night’s misadventure—well, that and a lingering ache around his neck. Renji checked his arms; he was glad to see they weren’t marked at all. He could hope that despite the way he felt, his rock hard skin wouldn’t bruise. Otherwise, it might be awkward to explain if anyone asked. He was going to be on duty in a couple of hours.

Renji was still sitting there rubbing his face, when Byakuya came around the bed to stand in front of him. Byakuya held out Renji’s tattered cherry blossom robe. As Renji took it, Byakuya said, “Stand up, let me see.”

Dutifully, Renji rose to his feet and shouldered into the robe. Byakuya gently pushed aside Renji’s hair to peer at his neck. He adjusted the folds of the robe as Renji tied it, and clucked his tongue, “I’m going to get a reputation.”

“Heh, I’ll never kiss and tell,” Renji said, sneaking in another kiss to the top of Byakuya’s head. “Anyways, I did it to myself.”

Byakuya continued to fuss at the fabric of Renji’s robe, trying to smooth the wrinkles from the cotton on his shoulders. “Perhaps I’ll have Eishirō discreetly send for the estate’s medic. She’s not used to healing shinigami, but I’m sure she could handle lessening a bruise.”

Renji shrugged. He was sure it looked much worse than it felt. Byakuya stood near enough that Renji could slip his arms around Byakuya’s waist. Renji pulled him close so that Byakuya’s hands curled around his shoulders and their stomachs touched. Byakuya glanced up and opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Renji caught his lips up in another deep kiss.

This time Byakuya seemed to appreciate it a little more and his hands slid up to encircle Renji’s shoulders, fingers finding their way into Renji’s hair. 

Meanwhile, Renji let his hands press along the contours of the strong muscles of Byakuya’s back. They almost never did this: kissing standing up, and it thrilled Renji on a deep level to feel Byakuya tilting up ever so slightly to meet his lips. Renji wondered if Byakuya hated it as much as he loved it, but then he felt Byakuya’s reiatsu reach out and entwine in his. Renji made a happy growl in the back of his throat. 

At that, Byakuya pulled away and put a finger to Renji’s lips. “Stop. You’re exciting me.”

Sucking Byakuya’s finger in, Renji bit down teasingly on it. “And that’s bad because…?”

Byakuya’s other hand left Renji’s hair to smack him on the butt. The spank was hard enough to surprise Renji into letting Byakuya’s finger go with a grunt. 

“Because,” Byakuya said, pushing easily away from Renji’s embrace. “We’re expected in the Division today. At this rate, we’ll both be late and people will talk.”

Watching Byakuya walk off, Renji rubbed his ass. “Right. I’ll grab my things and we can go.”

 

#

Because of the late hour, they were delayed a little at the sentō. Renji hugged himself for warmth they waited outside the master’s entrance wrapped in nothing but towels. They waited as the last of the patrons were hustled out. They’d showered outside in the private alcove and, though the sun was warm enough, the air held a touch of the coming winter. Renji shook his head. “You know, this is stupid, right? I mean, you could go in there with other people.”

“Yes, but you can’t. You’d shock the children.”

It took a second for Renji to realize Byakuya was making a kind of joke. It wasn’t a particularly good one, and Renji almost felt like pointing out that there’d still be women and children in there since it had been decided that Eishirō only needed to vacate the men’s side of the hot springs. Instead Renji just hunched his shoulders to the cold and said, “It’s still stupid. They’re just tattoos. It’s not like I’ve got a naked lady painted on my back or anything. I ain’t even sporting yakuza ink.”

Finally, the door slid open, and a very apologetic Eishirō bowed deeply. “I’m deeply sorry for keeping you waiting, my lord. But tea and breakfast are ready and waiting.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Byakuya said a bit snippily, stepping into the steamy room.

As he followed Byakuya in, Renji felt guilty to see the still bent over form of the house steward, so he said, “Don’t worry about it, Eishirō. We know you did your best.”

Even though he was grateful not to be stuck out in the cold anymore, Renji was honestly impressed they hadn’t had to wait longer. He could hear the grumbling sounds of angry male voices demanding their money back. If the situation were reversed, Renji sure as hell wouldn’t want to leave before his time was up. This place cost a mint.

And to be told you had to scram because the guy that owned the place wanted a private bath? That’d suck.

Renji’s eyes followed as Byakuya set aside his robe and slipped into the water near the tea table. Renji never got tired of seeing Byakuya naked. The man was like some kind of living sculpture of alabaster and obsidian—gorgeous, if a bit irritable before tea. Once he’d poured himself a bowl, Byakuya sank into the steaming pool up to his shoulders.

Setting his towel on a nearby bench, Renji stepped in. The water felt almost scalding after the chill of the outside. 

Eishirō slid open the doors to the view of the estate’s gardens, startling an egret into flight. It took off with a noisy hoot and flapping of its great white wings. Renji watched it circle once before resettling in the tall cattails at the far end of the marshy garden. 

Kneeling down, Eishirō pressed his head to the wet tile floor. “The house healer is on her way, my lord. Is there anything else you require?”

Byakuya seemed to have regained some of his patience with his first cup of tea. “No, and thank you for your diligence, Eishirō.”

“I live to serve, my lord.”

Renji quirked an eyebrow at that, though he supposed Eishirō was being sincere. He wouldn’t dare be sarcastic, would he? Then again, maybe he would. If anyone could get away with it, it’d be Eishirō. Byakuya didn’t seem to take much mind, regardless.

Eishirō slipped out silently, and Byakuya turned back to pour himself a second cup and another which he offered to Renji. Renji took it feeling very decedent to be drinking tea in the bath.

“I may only catch up with you at the division late this evening,” Byakuya said, settling back with his head against the lip of the pool. Where it touched the water, his long black hair fanned and flared out, swirling around his shoulders. “I have clan business that I must attend to.”

“Understood,” Renji said, sipping the tea. Damn, he’d forgotten how fine Byakuya’s tea was. There was a rich nutty undertone. Not like the stuff at the shōten. Renji took another drink to savor the taste on his tongue before saying, “I don’t think there’s much on the docket, anyway. The biggest thing I’m doing is having a word with Kinjo and planning a promotion party for Nanako.”

Oh, and probably reassuring an anxious Rukia that they could leave through the Kuchiki senkaimon with her brother’s full approval.

Byakuya glanced up over the rim of his tea bowl. “Should we say something official about Miisho’s retirement, do you suppose?”

Renji considered it. The fact that there was a Division retirement was going to be a bit of news; shinigami usually left service in a pine box, as it were, or a funeral pyre. Then again, Renji’s very own predecessor, Ginjirō Shirogane, had mustered out… so it wasn’t completely unheard of in the Sixth. No one would be surprised at any rumors that Byakuya had provided for Miisho, either. He’d done that for the former lieutenant, too. 

But, Renji shrugged. “There are bound to be questions. It’s clear me and him had some trouble, what with me tossing him out into the street and all. We should at least have an answer to those.”

“Perhaps that’s the simplest,” Byakuya said, taking another long sip. “Just imply that you didn’t get along.”

Renji grimaced into his tea bowl. He didn’t like that; it made him seem like the Eleventh Division bully everyone expect him to be. Though he supposed that sort of thing could work to his advantage. No one was going to give Renji much lip—not if they thought it would end in a short walk to some kind of mysterious ‘retirement’ sponsored by the captain. 

Tipping the cup back, Renji swallowed down the tea like it was sake. It wasn’t like they had a lot of other options. The truth wouldn’t work, not unless they wanted to face fraternization charges.

Even so, Renji hated having to bring down Miisho’s rep just to save theirs. There was a time Renji respected the guy. Sure, it’d turned out he was a bit of a dick, but he’d held the Division together during tough times. And, it was completely fair to be pissed off about the fraternization—Miisho wasn’t the only guy who idolized Byakuya and resented having a thug like Renji for lieutenant.

Renji dipped his head under the water for a second. When he came back up, he brought the empty bowl over for refilling and a look at what breakfast might entail. As he checked under the baskets, Byakuya said, “I take it you’re unhappy?”

Snagging a bit of pickled radish with his fingers, Renji shrugged. “Dude’s biggest crime was catching us almost kissing. I guess I kind of feel sorry for the guy.”

“Don’t,” Byakuya said. “He was unrepentant to the end. I gave him a chance to be happy for us and he refused. I’m only grateful I was able to break the marriage contract and negotiate him down to half his original asking price.”

Renji paused in with his nose still hovering over the savory smell coming from odon, a winter stew of fish, tofu and vegetables. He ladled out two bowls. “Half? What are you doing with the other two teahouses?”

Byakuya’s eyes were on the garden. His lips pursed for a moment before he said, “Nothing for the moment. They will remain with the clan.”

_‘With the clan?’_ That was a half-assed way of saying he planned to keep them. Renji grabbed a sun-dried mackerel and stuck it in his mouth. With a bowl of soup and one of rice he made his way back over to the opposite side of the pool. Byakuya glanced up as Renji splash-stomped past him.

“I know you dislike the idea, Renji,” Byakuya said.

Dislike? Byakuya knew full well that Renji’s feelings were a little stronger than that. He just shook his head, setting his bowls on the tile at the edge of the pool. There was no point in talking about this, so he just chewed on the fish.

“Your glare is very fierce,” Byakuya remarked, reaching up to take the bowl of stew Renji’d poured for him. “But, you should hear me out. I have a responsibility to keep the Western teahouse now that I’ve employed Daisuke as my spy.”

Renji grunted. He supposed that made some sense, though you’d think it’d be just as useful to have a spy in someone else’s teahouse. Though, as far away as Byakuya was, it wasn’t like he could protect the kid if he were discovered.

Byakuya continued, “Also, they could prove useful as a bolt hole, should the need arise.”

With a snort, Renji asked around a mouthful of fish, “You planning on going rogue on us, Taicho?”

“No, but no one plans for such calamity. I’m sure Shiba was caught unaware,” Byakuya said, taking a delicate sip of his stew. “I would much rather follow the Shihōin example and at least be somewhat prepared.”

“Then you should build yourself a fucking big-ass underground cave, not hideout in a whorehouse.”

“Renji.” Byakuya’s tone was sharp, a warning. More calmly, he added, “That’s hardly constructive… or practical.”

Savagely, Renji tore into the remaining bit of fish. Pointing at Byakuya with the tail, Renji said, “You want practical? Try this on for size: if you end up some kind of outlaw, first thing’s gonna happen is your assets are going to be seized. So you ain’t going have no brothel to skive off to, now are you?” Byakuya started to say something, but Renji cut him off, “And even if you keep it off the books, you think no one’s going to consider your history and go look for you there? Goddamn it, Byakuya, they’re only in the First Districts. You don’t think anyone’d spot you a stone’s throw from the fucking gate? You’d be hella smarter to hide in Hueco Mundo.”

Byakuya, who looked like he’d been getting angry, seemed to start out of it. “Hueco Mundo? Not the Human World?”

Renji crunched down the last of the fish and shook his head. “You’d be a fucking beacon in the Human World, a snap to locate. From what I understand Hueco Mundo’s full of Hollows and worse, so it’d be much easier to hide among spiritual creatures like that. I’m sure that’s what Aizen’s doing.”

After a long moment, Byakuya said tersely, “Well. That’s far more constructive, at least.”

It was, and it made a shitload of sense. “Whatever. Why don’t you just admit the profits are too good to dump?”

“That’s unfair, Renji. I was ready to divest for you, and I have--to a large extent.” He set down his bowl and stood up, clearly finished with the bath and this conversation. “However, it has been decided that Miisho’s silence was not worth its original price. I no longer find you to be a such a dirty secret that I would pay any price to hush it up.” 

Oh. Well, fuck. Why couldn’t Byakuya have said that part first?

“I understand you have personal objections, Renji,” Byakuya continued, his back to Renji as he toweled himself dry. “But, this was purely a business decision. My decision. My clan’s business.”

Oh. Well, fuck. Why’d Byakuya have to go and say that? Just when Renji’d been feeling all regretful and everything.

Renji grabbed the remains of his breakfast and followed after. Gulping down a mouthful of rice, Renji swallowed his pride as well, and said, “Yeah, fine, you’re right. Ain’t my family; it ain’t my business.”

Inside the changing room, Eishirō had laid out two baskets. One had Senbonzakura on top, the other Zabimaru. The captain’s haori was hung carefully on a nearby hook. Byakuya began to dress. After winding into his fundoshi, he let out a little breath. “Let’s not fight about this.”

“That’s kind of what I was saying,” Renji agreed. Sitting down on the bench, he dug through his own basket for his undershirt. Finding the tabi first, Renji smiled thinking back on last night. He showed them to Byakuya before slipping them on and latching the sides. 

“The healer never came,” Byakuya noted.

“She didn’t have time. We didn’t even finish breakfast,” Renji pointed out, fastening the last sock. “Look, I’ll go rustle her up before I head to the Division, okay?”

“Yes,” Byakuya said, slipping into his shitagi and starting on the ties. “See that you do. The bruise has turned an unsightly bluish-brown.”

Already? Well, he was healing fast, if nothing else. “Yeah. We meeting for dinner at your quarters or the estate?”

“I’ll need an excuse to escape. Let’s say my quarters.”

Renji stood up to shoulder into the shitagi. Byakuya was already tucking his kosode and such into his hakama. Renji nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”

They dressed in silence for a while. As Byakuya pulled on the haori and reached for Senbonzakura, he said, “I do consider your opinion very seriously, Renji. I also hope that some day soon you will be family and all of this will be entirely your business. When an opportunity next presents itself, I’ll sell the remaining teahouses.”

Sure.

But, Renji recognized a compromise when he saw one, so he nodded as best he could with the hakama tie in his mouth. Around the silk, he managed a mostly intelligible, “Thanks.”

Byakuya kissed Renji’s cheek somewhat perfunctorily as he headed out. “I’ll see you tonight.”

#

After ten minutes of wandering aimlessly, Renji had to admit that he had no idea where to even start looking for the estate’s healer. He thought for sure he’d run into her on the usual route between the estate and the sentō, but no joy. Asking random staff seemed like a bad idea, since Byakuya clearly wanted this handled on the QT.

Finally, he spotted a familiar face. “Oi, Seichi!”

Turning at the sound of his name, Seichi waved Renji over. He and the gardener were repairing the railing on one of the low-arching bridges in the garden. Renji recognized the path as the one that led to the little uncultivated island and the hidden temple to Tanuki. “Renji, you know Kawagichi-san, the Head Gardener, right?”

Renji bowed a greeting, but said, “I don’t think we’ve formally met. A pleasure, sir.”

“A pleasure would be if someone would hold on to this so I’m not breaking my back while trying to secure it in place.”

It might have been a dig at Seichi, who seemed to be hard at work leaning against the opposite railing, but Renji took it as his cue to kneel down and brace the lumber for the old man. In a few minutes, the new railing was in place. As Kawagichi started packing up his tools, Seichi said, “I’m off for lunch now. You’re going that way, right, Lieutenant?”

Lieutenant? Renji stood up and wiped his hands on his hakama. At this rate, he’d be lucky to find the healer before his shift started. Still, he had a few minutes and it wasn’t like the Division was far away. “I guess.”

“Oh yes,” the gardener muttered, “Please take your break, Abarai-kun. You must be exhausted.” 

Seichi waved good-bye over his shoulder. Renji stood for a second watching him walk away. To the gardener, Renji offered a hand up and said, “My brother’s a complete dick.”

The gardener had a surprisingly strong grip. “Yes, I’m afraid I’m well aware of that fact.”

Renji shook his head. “I knew Byakuya had it wrong. Cooperative, my ass.”

“He plays it up for the master,” Kawagichi said, shouldering his bag of tools. “You’d think butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.”

“I’ll bet,” Renji said. Seichi had always been good at playing the innocent game in Inuzuri. Hell, his batting eyelashes and waterworks had gotten them out of plenty of hot water. 

With a nod good-bye to the gardener, Renji jogged to catch up with Seichi. When he did, he smacked the top of Seichi’s head. “What’s wrong with you, you worthless piece of shit? You can’t be bothered to help an old man?”

Seichi moved to shove Renji in return, but Renji deftly dodged it. Seichi tried to act like he hadn’t intended to land a blow. “He’s looks like a nice old guy, but he’s a slave driver! I’ve been up since dawn doing that jerk’s bidding.”

“Poor baby,” Renji said unsympathetically. “Last time I checked hard work never killed anyone.”

“Yeah? Clearly you ain’t never been on a chain gang.”

Ouch. Though he felt fairly chagrined by the little reminder that Seichi had been, Renji rolled his eyes. “You can’t tell me working the Kuchiki manor is as bad as all that.”

“You of all people know it’s no bed of roses, neither,” Seichi said, his voice suddenly low and serious.

“Me of all… ? The hell you talking about, Seichi?”

They’d come to the servant’s entrance to the kitchen. Seichi’s hand rested on the door, but he stopped and looked up at Renji with a pitying expression. “What happened to your neck, Renji?”

Renji’s hand flew up, as though to hide the bruise. Not only was it way too late for that, he could feel a deep blush helpfully coloring his cheek. With effort he pulled his hand away and grunted, “I fell.”

“Is that what he told you to say?”

“No, that’s what happened,” Renji snarled. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he turned away and put his back up against the manor’s wall. To the rafters, he admitted, “I might’ve been tied up at the time, but it was down to me.”

There was a funny little noise and when Renji looked over, Seichi was sitting on the ground on the other side of the door, his head between his knees. “Ah, shit, Renji. I knew you was sleeping with the Kuchiki, everybody here knows that, but I was hoping that other stuff wasn’t true.”

Renji gave Seichi a hard glance, and then returned his attention to the eaves. “Yeah? So, what’s all this you’ve heard?”

Seichi gripped his head in both hands and stared at the dirt between his feet. “That he ties you down like an animal, humiliates you in front of servants… That after you tried to fight him, he had you confined to his quarters for a month.”

“Oh, now wait a minute,” Renji said. “The fight was about Rukia, and not entirely about us, though… uh, anyway, that last one was fun, not some kind of punishment, except I guess you could say officially--” Renji stopped talking when he realized he was digging himself a bigger hole. He had thought he’d woken up feeling pretty good today, none of that weird fuzziness in his head like he’d had on and off all day yesterday, but this conversation was doing his head in. Renji pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I can see how maybe it seems like that, but that’s not how it is, okay?”

Seichi pulled at the thick dreads of his hair miserably, his eyes still on the ground. “Tell me what it’s really like, Renji.”

“I love him. That stuff—it’s just a game we play,” Renji said. 

Seichi rocked back and forth a little as he continued to tug at the thick, ropy dreads. “How come it’s always the bosses that want to play the game of hurting, huh, onii-chan? You’d think, with all that power, they’d be sick of always being on top, but they still love every moment when we’re groveling for them, dressed in their chains and their collars and their handcuffs--begging, hurting, sobbing… That’s when they tell us we’re beautiful. When we’re licking their boots.”

Renji sucked in a breath. In fact, he found he’d sprung away from the wall. His hands curled into fists as memories flashed through his mind from that night Byakuya had said, _Kiss my feet…_

But Seichi couldn’t know about the alley. No one else knew about that.

If Seichi noticed Renji’s reaction, he didn’t show it. In fact, he still seemed to be half-talking to himself as he continued, “I don’t understand it. I never have. It’s no challenge, hitting someone already on the ground. But people do it, don’t they? They think it’s funny or they get off on it, I don’t know. It’s like that time those yakuza soldiers killed Katsuo and made us all kneel, and they humiliated you in particular, made you--”

“I remember,” Renji snapped. 

Seichi winced at Renji’s shout. He hadn’t intended to yell like that, but Renji’s gut clenched at the memory of being made to walk around on all fours, like a dog, while they laughed. All the while, his hands and knees trailed Katsuo’s blood. 

Renji rubbed his face, trying to banish the memory and the sick feeling it left him with. “Look, I got to go. I’m supposed to be on duty. And this old shit ought to just stay buried, where it belongs. It has jack-all to do with Byakuya. How many times I got to say? It’s not like that, me and him. I like the stuff we do; I’m totally into it. You get that? I want what we do. All of it.”

Eyes glanced up briefly, and then darted away. Seichi’s voice was quiet and small, “You wanted to be stripped and groped in front of the tea girl in the library?”

Fuck. That would be one of the stories circulating, because, well, Aio had seen it all, hadn’t she? “Kind of…? Mostly. Honestly, that wasn’t one of my favorites, okay? We were still working things out back then. But, you know, that was the night I figured out that maybe part of me was just as into it as he was.”

Seichi was still pulling at his hair. “It’s what you tell yourself, I know. When it was happening to me, I found things to like, even look forward to.”

Renji looked down at Seichi at that. His rocking had gotten more intense and he seemed to have actually pulled out tufts of his hair. “When what was happening to you, Seich’?”

“They’re stronger than us, aren’t they? I heard… I heard how you tried to fight him, Renji. They told me all about his special sword powers and about how he’s got so much of that spirit energy he can push a guy like you to the floor with just his mind. So what choice do you have? It’s like Katsuo. Saying no, fighting---you end up dead or it just earns you a beating and then they still get what they want. They just take it when you’re down and crying and hurt.”

Dear gods. What had happened to Seichi in prison? No, fuck—it was way too obvious exactly what had. Renji shifted Zabimaru to the side so he could sit next to Seichi on the ground. “Where you sleeping, Seichi? You in the barracks? Because, you should come stay in my quarters.”

There wasn’t a lot of room for two people, but Seichi wouldn’t see it that way. They’d shared smaller spaces in the past. 

When Seichi didn’t respond right away, Renji was seized by an old brotherly urge to find food for them, because food made things better. “You want to go grab some grub? I can take you to the mess, get you a meal pass. I mean, the estate probably has nicer stuff on offer but---“

“Yes,” Seichi said, a hand reaching out to clutch at Renji’s forearm. “It’s better when we’re together. It was always so much better.”


End file.
